Dearborn was named a Tree City USA for the 39th year.

Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud says its a pride point for the city. “We’re trying to take it an extra step, ensuring that we offer all of our residents a free tree in their easements, and even if they’d like a free treatment for their personal property,” he says.

Benefits

Hammoud says the trees help with flood mitigation in the city.

“The more trees you put in the ground, the more water it can absorb, helping prevent that water from entering your water and sewer system, which helps increase your capacity,” he says.

City reprenstatives have been planting about 1,000 trees a year, he says.

What goes up…

Hammoud says road construction and storms can sometimes lead to some trees coming down.

“Sometimes a tree will be removed if you have major road construction, and you do chop off some of the root system, and then you’d no longer have a tree that can be there safely, where a windstorm, especially if there’s many leaves in the tree, can get picked up along with that windstorm,” he shares.

He says there are efforts to educate residents about the benefit of planting and saving trees. The city has also caught up on a backlog of taking down dead and deceased trees from 1,200-1,300 to about 100 trees. 

Setting trees up for success

The city mostly plants trees that are 3-4 years old, and works with the Crimboli Nursery & Landscapes to get their trees.

Every tree comes with a 1-2 year warranty, but residents are asked to water the trees.

“If the wooden stakes are still on the tree that are helping keeping it up, that means the tree has a warranty for those first two years, ensuring that can kind of grow out of its newborn phase,” he says.

Dearborn residents can request a free tree in their easement by visiting dearborn.gov/trees. 

This story is a part of WDET’s ongoing series, the Detroit Tree Canopy Project.

Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Chief Medical Executive for the State of Michigan, says there are now over 700 cases of cyclosporiasis in the state. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services put out additional recommendations to prevent the spread of cyclospora over the weekend. 

Cyclosporiasis is a gastrointestinal disease caused by parasites, which causes severe diarrhea.  

Dr. Bagdasarian says much of the spread has been caused by handling and consuming produce. 

“We know that it takes about one to two weeks after consuming something that’s contaminated with cyclospora to develop symptoms, so there’s a lag between being exposed and developing symptoms, said Bardgasarian. “And then, of course, there’s a lag when people are looking for healthcare, when they are finding a healthcare provider, getting tested, and actually determining that this is cyclospora.”

Wayne County is among several counties with large numbers of people diagnosed. Recommendations include washing all fresh produce under clean running water, and cooking foods to kill cyclospora.  

If people suspect being infected, they should see a health care provider, mentioning they may have cyclospora if symptoms of diarrhea don’t clear up in a few days. Treatment includes a dose of antibiotics.

Additional headlines for Monday, July 6, 2026

Dearborn FEMA funding

The City of Dearborn has received federal funding to improve its sewer system. FEMA awarded $8.1 million for the upgrades… as part of the second phase of a Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Work will be done in the city’s neighborhoods between Chase Road and Greenfield Avenue.  

About 6,200 feet of storm sewers will be added to help with flood mitigation efforts. The city flooded in 2014, 2018 and in 2021when a “once-in-a-lifetime flood” backed up the sanitary sewer system, causing two-thirds of basements to flood in the city.  

While FEMA will pay for 90% of the upgrades, Dearborn will pay for the remaining 10% of the work.  

Power update

DTE Energy crews worked all weekend to restore power to customers who lost electricity due to Friday’s severe thunderstorms. At one point, more than 200,000 homes and businesses in Southeast Michigan lost power after strong winds knocked down tree limbs and power lines. That number is down to about 73,000. DTE says it expects to restore power to most of these customers by the end of the day.  

-Reporting by Pat Batcheller   

 Older Americans turn to friends for care

 A new University of Michigan study finds friends are replacing family members in caring for elderly Americans. 

Researcher Crystal Ng says changing family relationships including divorce are leaving gaps in care that children once provided. She says older Americans are relying on friends for more than a drive to the doctor’s office.  

“A lot of times friends will also participate in clinical settings. Such as not only picking them… to transportation… to the medical appointment… but also sit next to them.”

Ng says relying on friends also provides people over the age of 65 years with a social framework and helps them maintain their independence. 

The study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s Network Open portal.  

-Reporting by Steve Carmody 

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